


Two People Talking... Rodney McKay and Spencer Reid

by Sally M (sallymn)



Series: Two People Talking... [22]
Category: Criminal Minds (US TV), Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Crossover, Gen, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-16
Updated: 2020-08-16
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:47:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 774
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25928386
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sallymn/pseuds/Sally%20M
Summary: "That doesn't sound like me at all..."
Series: Two People Talking... [22]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/53327
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10





	Two People Talking... Rodney McKay and Spencer Reid

**Two People Talking...**

"The unsub -"

Rodney huffed in annoyance. "The _what_? The least you could do, Dr Reid, if you _have_ to interrupt our critical and pressing work to talk at us instead of investigating as you are supposed to be here to do, is to talk English!" 

"Of course, my apologies." Reid stared at him for a long moment, then went on in his best - or worst - and definitely impossible to interrupt - lecturing manner. "The _unidentified suspect_ is male, aged between 30 and 45. He is undeniably a genius in his field although possibly not quite as brilliant as he believes himself to be, as he is also extremely arrogant and considers everyone else to be of lesser brainpower, and would not hesitate to say so, often and without any attempt at discretion. 

"He has very poor social skills and probably sees little if no need for them, having for the most part no use for people who cannot keep up with him intellectually, except as subordinates or general labour. Given his arrogance as I mentioned, this means that he pays little attention to most, in fact nearly all, of the people around him, though he will expect them to pander to his phobias, and to treat his welfare and safety as primary where there is any danger or discomfort. 

"He is also self-absorbed and egotistical, and finds it hard to understand why other people would be offended or annoyed by his manner of acting and speaking; however, he can also be quick to take offence when someone he considers inferior speaks to him in a similarly 

"He may suffer from phobias, perhaps even indulges them; because of his self-image as the most important person in his world, any small injury or illness can be blown out of proportion in his mind, and he continually sees threats to his safety and position. His level of physical fitness and strength is probably adequate for his position though not high, and he therefore needs to denigrate athletic abilities as inferior to mental ones. 

"He does have an unacknowledged level of need to be appreciated and admired, which is also continually in conflict with his abrasive manner, and makes it extremely difficult for him to make or maintain friendly or familial relationships, so he has probably convinced himself these are not necessary to a man of his stature. He probably gets on better with pets who require a low level of care but provide the affection he does unconsciously crave: cats for instance. 

"He has also channelled that need for appreciation and admiration into fierce competitiveness with anyone who he sees as threatening his position of superiority, however ineffectual he may see the threat as being, and can therefore be seen as jealous and demanding, even petty and malicious. His position and self-image as the foremost genius is vital to him, and cannot be challenged without an extreme defensive reaction. He will therefore belittle other people who he subconsciously sees as near-equivalent in his own discipline, and disparage any other field: I say subconsciously, because of course he would never consciously admit to a near equal and certainly never verbally do so. 

"However, it is possible that, if the challenge was sufficiently overt that he could not consciously deny it, he would seek to eliminate it." 

As he stopped, admittedly only to take a breath, there was a short silence. 

"Really," Rodney snapped. "That's all very... useless, Dr Reid." 

"I'm afraid yes, really. And far from being useless, it does tell us a lot about him." Reid, having his breath back, powered on. "He also sees his own work as of far more important than any other factor in the society he lives in, and tends to be impatient with what he sees as pointless interruptions." 

Rodney gave cursory thought to the people in his city, and shook his head. "No... I can't think of anyone like that." 

"I'm sure you can't," Reid said placidly. "Possibly because -?" 

"There's no one in the city who could possibly think themselves as the most brilliant one here while _I'm_ here, after all. I do out-brilliance all of them, and they know it, because I seem to have to remind them of it. Repeatedly." 

"I'm sure you do." 

"And it can't possibly be me." 

"Of course not." 

"Because that doesn't sound like me at all..." 

"Nnnnoooo.... no, I'm sure it doesn't, Dr McKay. And more to the point... you're the one the unsub tried - luckily, very badly - to kill." 

"Exactly." Rodney huffed again, with more than a tinge of fretfulness this time. "...though I really can't imagine why..." 

**\- the end -**

  


**Author's Note:**

> (Written for a dialogue challenge)


End file.
